Turning Seacoast trash into treasure

By Michael McCord

business@seacoastonline.com

December 03, 2012 - 2:00 AM

When Rian Bedard founded EcoMovement Consulting & Hauling in 2009, he had been inspired by a year living in San Francisco, where residential curbside pick-ups of compost was part of the city's civic fabric. But when he started EcoMovement, the company struggled against perception.

"We were constantly fighting against the tradition of waste hauling," said Bedard of his Dover-based company. In a lean economy, banks weren't willing to lend to a small waste-hauling start-up. It was a challenge to secure financing and clients, but then, as Bedard found out, EcoMovement was blazing a one-of-a-kind trail not only in the Seacoast region but in the country as well.

"We had to create everything from scratch because no one was hauling at the scale we were," Bedard said about his business model. In its first year, the company used a pickup truck and a trailer, and Bedard ended up with a sore back from lifting the heavy trash containers. But the company began to pick up steam and ended with 30 customers after its first year. As it celebrates its third anniversary in December, EcoMovement now serves more than 70 commercial clients (businesses, schools and other institutions) and 100 residential customers in the areas of Dover, Portsmouth, New Castle, Newmarket and Kittery and Eliot, Maine.

In an unusual partnership, a few of EcoMovement's customers co-signed loans to help the company buy a more functional and efficient dump truck. This ethos fits in with the company's "triple bottom line" mission, Bedard said, to create a financially sustainable company, while educating its clients and the public and helping to build a sustainable community.

In 2011, the company hauled 20 tons of compostable waste a week and Bedard estimates the totals for 2012 will be between 35 and 40 tons a week.

EcoMovement has partnered with more than a dozen Seacoast region restaurants — including Redhook Brewing in Portsmouth and Riverworks Restaurant and Tavern in Newmarket — and picked up food scraps and deposited it at compost farms in Fremont and Farmington. At these compost farms, the refuse is mixed with carbon sources and made into nutrient-rich soil. By the end of 2013, Bedard said he hopes EcoMovement will have its own compost site.

Bedard said that EcoMovement has assisted Redhook Brewing in creating a top-to-bottom composting program. Employees have provided tutorials to Redhook staff on how to separate real waste from items that can actually function as compost or be recycled. The two companies have been working together for a couple of years and now divert 400 to 600 pounds of refuse per week from landfills to the compost farms.

Nick Wright, Redhook's Cataqua Pub manager, explained that before partnering with EcoMovement, the pub's waste was 100 percent trash. Since then, 90 percent of what used to be trash now goes into composting. "It's a very big change, and we're really happy that we're able to make the move towards that," he said.

At Riverworks in Newmarket, manager Sarah Bernard said "greening" the restaurant had always been a top priority, but finding a composting hauler had been difficult until EcoMovement began picking up two years ago. "We have always recycled, done our best to conserve energy and resources and supported the community through fund-raising, donations and buying local as often as possible," she said. "Composting was something on our radar, but the few companies we spoke with were not very close and couldn't make the trip out to Newmarket. Finally, we found EcoMovement and were thrilled to discover a local composting company."

Though there was some concern among staff that separating compostable trash might add to the workload or create a noticeable smell, Bernard said that turned out not to be the case.

"Honestly, it was a very simple transition. EcoMovement came to our restaurant for an employee training session and answered all of our questions thoroughly," she said. "After it was all said and done, we were all separating our compost with ease. It was a pretty seamless process. We switched our plastic products and take-out containers to compostable alternatives and we continue to shop alternatives as more appear on the market. I think composting gives our staff something extra to be proud of."

Bernard said she believes that EcoMovement has found the right balance; using composting to raise awareness and provide a valuable waste alternative that enhances the greater community and connects businesses and customers.

"When a customer notices the light green compost bags and asks what it is all about, it feels good to know we're doing something great for the environment and the customer can share that feeling with us," she said. "I would encourage all restaurant owners and managers to take a leap of faith and give composting a try. It is far easier than it seems and it is an easy and meaningful way to contribute something positive to the community."

Bedard said, as part of its community building effort, EcoMovement donates services for all nonprofit events. It trains volunteers and works with vendors so that only recyclable and compostable materials are used. Volunteers man stations with signs that collect materials for compost, recycling or the landfill. "It's key to educate people at events, showing people that we emphasize this reduction in waste," Bedard said.

EcoMovement now has five employees and Bedard said it is focused on smart, sustainable growth. Most importantly, it wants to make a larger difference one customer at a time.

"You often see a culture change within a staff when a company starts composting. It's a ripple effect working on a daily basis when they see this stuff taken away and turned into soil," he said. "Then they wonder 'why can't I do it at home' and it changes the way people think."